ARLINGTON, VA — The Washington Capitals will have to go without their captain for the rest of the preseason.
Alex Ovechkin, who has been day-to-day with a lower-body injury since Sunday, will not play in either of the team’s remaining two exhibition games, per head coach Spencer Carbery.
“We’re just going to be cautious with it, so he’s not going to play tonight or tomorrow,” Carbery said after morning skate.
Though he won’t be in the lineup against the Boston Bruins on Friday, Ovechkin was on the ice with his teammates beforehand for morning skate. After missing several days with the injury, Ovechkin made a brief appearance on the ice on Wednesday and was able to complete a full practice on Thursday.
Since Ovechkin did not play in either of the team’s first two preseason games, his absence this weekend means he’ll begin the regular season without any exhibition games under his belt. Carbery acknowledged that the situation wasn’t ideal, but getting Ovechkin back to full health took precedence over a game that won’t count in the standings.
“I’m not going to sit here and say that it’s the best scenario possible, for him not to play any exhibition games, but we’re making sure — even if he’s 90, 95 (percent healthy), if he is not 100 percent there, what’s the sense in rushing him to play?” Carbery said. “No disrespect, we’d like to get him into a game, but it’s an exhibition game at the same time. So we’ll give him an extra — whatever the exact amount of days — to get himself 100 percent healthy, which is more of a priority than him getting into a little bit of game action.”
Carbery told reporters that Ovechkin should be able to play by Opening Night against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 2.
“I expect him to be ready,” Carbery said. “We would need a setback for him not to be ready for our opening game of the season in Carolina. We would need something to change, but I expect him to be ready.”
Friday’s game against the Boston Bruins will serve as a dress rehearsal, albeit without Ovechkin, for the Capitals’ projected Opening Night lineup. Though Ivan Miroshnichenko had been filling in for Ovechkin in practice, Ethen Frank will take the extra lineup spot on Friday night. Per Carbery, Ryan Leonard will move to Ovechkin’s place on the left wing, while Frank will slot in on the right.
Charlie Lindgren will also sit out against Boston, allowing him to play on Saturday without violating the two-game preseason limit for veterans, with Clay Stevenson instead serving as backup to starter Logan Thompson. Carbery confirmed the lineup would otherwise remain the same as it has at practice throughout Training Camp.
Capitals lines against Boston Bruins
After Washington faces Boston at home at 7 pm on Friday, a less veteran-heavy roster will travel to Philadelphia to close out the preseason on Saturday. The team will then have five days off before they start the regular season.
